Steam iron



Nov. 19,}945. FELVER' 2,411,199

STEAM IRON Filed Aug. 19, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1

INVENTOR as -RICHARD LF'ELVER.

BY. 7fi/, MM ATTORNEY Nov. 19, 1946.

R. l. FELVER STEAM IRON Filed Aug. 19, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 I I I I I II l I I I I I:

RR MF /m Du "W 6 a V. n 9 4 G l a F v m W m? .NMH m6 Patented Nov. 19, 1946 STEAM IRON Richard I. Felver, Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 19, 1943, Serial No. 499,207

3 Claims. (01. 38--77) My invention relates to a steam iron, and more particularly to the type of steam iron which includes means for supplying water at a regulated rate to a steam generator provided within the iron, and has for an object to produce an improved iron of the type set forth.

A further object of my invention is to produce a steam iron of the type set forth which includes means for automatically shutting oil the water supply from the steam generator when said iron is placed upon, or in abutment with, a support, during temporary interruption of the ironing operation and for restoring the water supply upon removal of said iron from said support for resumption of the ironing operation.

A further object of my invention is to produce a steam iron of the type set forth in which the means for shutting ofl and restoring the water supply is operable independently of and without afieeting the adjustment of the water supply or the adjustment of the temperature control of such iron.

A still further, object of my invention is to produce a steam iron embodying the improvements set forth, which will be simple and inexpensive to produce.

These and other objects are efiected by my invention as will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in accordance with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a View partly in vertical section and partly in elevation, showing a steam iron embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the iron illustrated in Fig. 1, with the handle removed and with the water supply regulating valve open;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view, showing the lefthand portion of Fig. 2 with the regulating valve closed;

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary sectional views on lines IVIV and VV of Fig. 2-, respectively;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the regulating valve closed during temporary interruption of the ironing operation;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the iron shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 8 is a. perspective view of a steam iron embodying a modified form of my invention; and,

Fig. 9 is a view similar to-Fig. 2, showing details of the modified form of invention.

Referring first to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, there is shown a steam iron I 0 comprising a. soleplate H, a cover member l2, and a handle 13, which are suitably secured together. The interior of the cover I2 is provided with a suitable partition H, which, together with the side and top walls of the cover, defines a liquid reservoir l5. Water, or other liquid suitable for dampening clothes, is introduced into the reservoir I5 through an opening provided in the top of the cover 12 and normally closed by a removable plug it (Fig. 2). The reservoir l5 may be vented in any desired manner.

The soleplate ll may be of conventional outline and is heated by a heating element 1! embedded therein. The heating element ll may be of any well-known construction and comprises an outer sheath l8 having a resistance element It supported in spaced, insulated relation thereto in any well-known manner, and energized by conductors 2! which are sheathed in a sleeve Zla.

The heating element ii is connected to the conductors 2| in series with a manually-admsted thermostat 22 which is carried by and is responsive to the temperature of the soleplate l l.

The thermostat 22 is adjusted by means of a knob 23 fixed to a shaft 24, journaled in bearings 25 fixed to the top of the cover 12. Theknob Z3 .is arranged so that the upper portion thereof projects through a window 26 provided in the top of the cover I2. The knob 23 is provided with a scale 21, adapted to be read in conjunction with an index 28 fixed to the iron adjacent the window 26 for indicating the selected ironing temperature.

The rear end of the rod 24 is provided with a cam 29 which engages the upper end or a rod 30 operatively connected to the thermostat 22. The rod 30 is slidable in a vertical sleeve 3 l, which extends through the reservoir (5 and is secured in fluidtight manner to the upper and lower walls thereof.

As the shaft 24 is rotated by means of the knob 23, the cam 29 raises or lowers the rod 30 to adjust the thermostat to maintain the soleplate at any desired temperature. The rod 30 is springbiased upwardly to maintain the same in engagement with the cam 29, and is provided with an adjusting screw 32, the head of which engages the cam 29 to aid in calibrating the thermostat. The thermostat and its adjusting mechanism is preferably arranged so that the high point 33 (Fig. 5) of the cam maintains the thermostat continuously open regardless of the temperature of the soleplate, to provide an oif' position for the iron.

The heating element i! is preferably U-sliaped, and the soleplate is provided with a recess 34 located within the bight of the U-shaped heat- -ing element and opening on the ironing surtwo communicating compartments 39 and 55;

When water from the reservoir l5 issupplied to I the compartment 39, it is instantly flashed into steam. The steam' thus iormed flows over the annular rib 38 into the compartment 49, from which it is discharged, through ports 4i provided inthe plug 35, to the material to be pressed.

The reservoir i5 and the steam-generating space are connected by a passage 43 formed in a bushing 92, which is disposed between and secured in fiuidtight relation to the lower wall it of the reservoir and the upper wall 51 of the solepiate.

The upper end of the passage 43 is flared outwardly to provide a valve seat 55 for the lower, tapered end 45 of a valve stem 51 to close the passage. The valve stem extends through and is guided for vertical movement by a sleeve 58 secured in fluidtight relation to the upper wall of the reservoir i5 and telescoped over the reduced upper end of the bushing 52] The sleeve 48 is provided with suitable apertures 59 which permit water in the reservoir-chamber i5 to enter the passage 43 when the valve is open.

The upper end of the valve stem Lil extends through an opening in a bracket 5! which is fixed to the iron and which serves as an abutment for the upper end of a compression spring 52 coiled about the upper end of the valve stem 57. The lowerend of the compression spring'52 rests upon a lever 54, which is suitably secured to the valve stem 51. The spring 52 normally biases the valve stem 41 downwardly toward valve-closing position.

The lever 55 includes an offset handle portion 55 which extends beyond the side of the handle l3, through a slot formed therein. An angularlydisposed arm 58 is secured to the valve stem iii in fixed relation to and movable with the lever 56. An over-center spring 55 is secured at one end thereof to the handle 55 of the lever 55, and is secured at its other end to the bracket 5! on the centerline 57. The spring 55 constitutes a snap-acting or toggle mechanism which serves to urge and retain the lever 59 in position to either side of the centerline 8?. Suitable stops 51 prevent the movement of the lever 55 beyond the two positions.

The arm 58 is adapted to ride on, or to assume a position clear of, a cam 59 carried on the forward end of the rotatable rod 24, depending on the position of the lever 55. Thus, in the position of the lever 54 shown in Fi 3, the arm 58 is clear of the cam 59 and the spring 52 maintains the water valve closed. This position of the lever is identified by the legend Dry on the iron. By moving the lever 55 to the position shown in Fig. 2, the arm 58 rides on the cam 59 and, depending upon the position of the cam, is raised thereby to raise the valve stem 51 and open the water valve. This'position of the lever may be termed the steam position and is-so identified by the legend Steam.

The cam 59 is of such contour as to close, or partly or fullyto open, the water. valve, depending upon the temperature adjustment of the thermostat, so as to provide a rate of water flow to the steam generator which will supply the correct amount of steam for the type of material to be pressed. Thus, the cams Hand 59 are correlated so thatior each temperature setting of the thermostat efiected by the cam 29, the cam 59 will open the water valve a certain amount to provide the correct rate of wate flow to the steam generator. It is also to be noted that the valve may be opened (Fig. 2) or closed (Fig. 3 without changing the adjustment of the cams 29 and '59. Therefore, the iron remains at the desired temperature and when the valve is opened the supply of water will be at the rate to which it had been previously set.

In Figs. 4 and 5, the cams 59 and 29 are shown on an enlarged scale in the position they assume when the knob 23 is set at Off. In these figures, the parts of the cams which respectively engage the lever 58"and adjusting screws 52 when the knob is adjusted for a particular temperature setting are identified by the same legends appearing on the knob itself. Thus, when the knob Eli-is turned to bring the legend linen opposite the index 29, the point on the cam 29- identified by the legend linen in Fig. 5 will overlie the screw head 32 and adjust the thermostat 22 to maintain the soleplate at a temperature suitable for ironing linen. Similarly, this setting of the knob 25 will bring the point of the cam 59 identified by the legend linen beneath the arm 59 to raise the valve stem sufiiciently to provide a rate of water flow to the steam generator sumcient to correctly dampen linen. V

mso, in Figs. 4 and 5, reference circles 59a and 25a, respectively, are provided to show the extent to which the valve stem 91 is raised by the cam 59 as the knob 25 is turned from rayon to linen,

and the amount the thermostat adjusting rodfiii is permitted to rise as the knob 23 is turned from the off position to the linen" or main'mum temperature position. In these figures, curved arrows indicate the direction of rotation of the earns as Y the knob is turned throughout the range of adjustment from ofi position through progressively higher temperature settings up to maximum temperature position.

During an ironing period there are frequent interruptions during which the iron is temporarily idle. These interruptions occur when a new piece of work is being prepared'ior ironing, when a of work being iron has to be moved or ioldpiece ed, or when a finished etc.

In order automatically to shut on? the water supply when the ironing operation is thus temporarily interrupted and in order .to leave the valve in position automatically to open as soon as the ironing operation is resumed, I provide a rod 54 which is slotted at 65 to engage guide pins 58 carried by brackets 69 which, in turn, are car'- ried' by a-sui'tabie portion of the body of the iron, such as the top of the cover H2. The rod 84 is piece of work is put away,

bent to form an-elbow l9 and a vertical portion i2 which terminates in a horizontal extension H projecting beyond the rear end of the handle l3 as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The vertical portion 12 of therod 64 is movable in a space 15 provided within the handle l3 and defined by walls 18 and-80. At its inner end, the rod 84 is provided with a pin 82, which, in the inner position of the rod 64', is adapted to enga e an arm 84 fixed to the valve stem 41. The rod N. as a whole, is biased' to the right in Figs. 1 and 2 by a spring 86.

Operation-Figs; 1 and 2 During the actual ironing, the rod 64 is entirely ineffective, and the iron may be turned on or ofl. or adjusted as to water supply and temperature, in the manner above set forth. When the ironing operation is momentarily interrupted, the iron is usually stood on its end (Fig. 8). In

this position, the extension 14 of the rod 64 comes in contact with the ironing board or other support, and, under the weight of the iron the rod 64 moves inwardly relative to the body of the iron and against the action of the spring 86. The iron now rests on the tip 88 of the handle I3, the rear boss 90 ofthe cover 52 and the boss Hill formed on the side and near the end of the sleeve 21a. The movement of the rod 64 inwardly, or to the left in Figs. 1 and 2, causes the pin 82 to en age the arm 84 of the lever 56 and thus rotate the valve stem 47 in clockwise direction in Fig. 2, The arm 58 now moves from the position shown in Fig. 2 in which the arm 58 rides on the cam as and the water supply regulating valve is open, to the position shown in Fig. 6 in which the arm 58 is out of engagement with the cam 59 and the valve is closed. It will be noted that, in this position, the lever 54 remains to the left of the centreline 81. Therefore, as soon as the iron is lifted and the pressure on the'rod 64 is relieved, the spring 86 biases the rod 54 to the right and withdraws the pin 82 out of the path oi. movement of the end 84 of the lever 54. The spring 56 now automatically moves the lever arm 54 back to the position shown in Fig. 2, in which the water supply regulating valve is again open to whatever extent it may have been previously adjusted. As above pointed out, if it is desired to use the iron dry, the lever 54 is moved manually to the right of the centerline 81 and is urged to and maintained in the position shown in Fig. 3 by the spring 56. In this position, the water supply regulating valve is closed and the rod 64 is entirely inefiectivewhether the iron is in actual use or is momentarily idle.

In'Figs. 8 and 9, I show an alternate construction in which the elbow ID, the vertical portion 12 and the extension 14 of the rod 64 are omitted. In this construction, the rod 54a is pivoted.

at 8| to a lever 92, the inner end of which is pivoted at 96 to a bracket or the like 98 carried by, or forming part of, the top of the cover Hi. The lever 92 extends, and is movable within an opening in the sleeve 21a and the finger 99 formed at the outer end of the lever 92 projects through an opening in the boss )0.

The operation of the embodiment of Figs. 8 and 9 is identical withthat of the embodiment first desoribed'except that when the iron is stood on its end, as shown in Fig. 8, the extension of the lever 92 is pushed inwardly through the 1101- low boss I and sleeve 2 la to actuate the rod 640.

It will be noted that, in both embodiments, the movement of the lever 54 and arm 58 from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 3 or 6 does not in any way affect the adjustment of the thermostat or water supply regulating valve.

Also, while in the embodiments illustrated, the end 14 of the rod 64 and the end 99 of the lever 90 both project in a generally rearward direction so as to be operable when the iron is stood up on its rear end, it is within the scope of myv in-' vention to so construct the actuating levers that the end 14 or $9 will project through a side or some other portion on which the iron may be rested while temporarily idle. Also, it is pointed out that the invention may be applied to the ordinary, heel rest type of iron in which the bosses and IN may be omitted.

While I have shown my invention in several forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

WhatIclaim is:

1. The combination with a steam iron comprising a soleplate, heating means for said sole plate, a, thermostat for controlling said heating means, a steam generator carried by said soleplate, valve means including a valve stem and a spring biasing said valve stem downwardly to valve closing position, to shut oil the supply of water to said steam generator, means for concomitantly adjusting said thermostat and said valve to vary the temperature of said soleplate and the rate of flow of water to said steam generator, said means including a shaft, a first cam carried by said shaft and operatively associated with said thermostat, a secondcam carried by said shaft and disposed near said valve means, a lever secured to said valve stem and movable to a first position and to a second position, an arm movable with said lever to ride on said second cam to raise said valve stem against the action of said spring thereby to open said valve means, said arm being adapted, in the second position of said lever, to clear said second cam thereby to permit said spring to bias said valve stem to close said valve means, and a toggle mechanism for retaining said lever in either of said positions, of means for closing said valve, without changing the adjustment of said valve or said thermostat, including a movable member carried by said iron and having one end thereof projecting through a surface of the iron other than the soleplate thereof, with the other end of said member disposed adjacent to, and adapted to engage one end of said lever, and a spring biasing said member outwardly or in a direction away from said lever, said member being so constructed and arranged that when said iron is placed on a support, with said surface thereof in contact with said support, said member actuates said lever to said second position, but not past the dead center of said toggle mechanism, whereby said toggle mechanism automatically returns said lever to said first position when said iron is lifted off said support.

2. A steam iron including a steam generator carried by said iron, a valve for supplying water to said steam generator, valve control means in+ eluding a member adapted to be manually positioned to close the valve or to permit opening of the valve, said control means further including an element adapted to be engaged by a support on which the iron is placed in non-ironing position, said control means being operative, when said manually-positioned member is positioned to permit opening of the valve, to close said valve upon said element engaging said support, and to open valve for supplying water to said steam generator, means for controlling operation or said valve, said means including a valve-actuating lever movable into a first position, in which said valve is closed, and into a second position, in which said valve is open and from which position said lever may be moved in valve-closing direction'sufii ciently to close said valve without said lever moving into said first position, an overcenter spring operative when saidlever is moved in either direction past dead center of said spring to biassaid lever to said first or said second position, and a movable member carried bysaid iron and having one end thereof disposed outside the body of said iron and the other end thereof adapted to engage said lever, said movable member being so 0011- stmcted and arranged in relation to said lever h t, when said iron is placed in a non-ironing position on a support and said one end of said 

